Should stupidity be made into a bannable offense? I think so...
Seriously, every website I've been to...stupidity eventually became one of the biggest problems of all. There shouldn't be anything against doing that, right?
As of right now, stupidity isn't a problem for this board, but when it grows...

Mmh more globally I think people should take everything easy, and if necessary take it bad.

Our mecha enthousiasts community is not that big, and it's a shame there have been and still are some fights.

There wasn't this problem on WaxTrax as
1/ hem, well there was not many people
2/ it was only FSS, so it's hard to disagree on such a precise subject

Anyway on Gears there already have been some fights (erf, damn it, my dictionnary has no synonymous for a vocal-fight between two people ) in the chatter section but also in the FSS section.

Moreover on the net, we have smileys but it's not enough to transcript our mood and the tone of what we say. So on the net we should put our daily-angry aside and take everything easy BY DEFAULT, maybe that sentence that seems harsh was not what the other meant to say, maybe he said it the wrong way, maybe I understood wrong, but who knows and who's gonna take the blame ? So each takes 50% and settles things down.
This way many problems could be avoid (AFAIR, the fights we've had here started because of some misunderstanding, and some I found started quite promptly).

The same goes about opinions, each one has his own and everybody should concede that.

Also one more thing that comes to my mind, as great and versatile as the word f*** may be, and as far as I like to use insults when speaking (I throw alot at my brother and he throws it back equally for fun ), I have to say that I'd prefere not to see it on this board, even with * in it. WaxTrax really had a different feeling, mainly because of that (ok, maybe also a bit because of the several crashes, its old layout and everything :p)

So maybe there should be a bigger disclaimer in each section, to give the tone of the board, a sort of Zero tolerance warning, cuz' the line will be crossed anyway, but it'll be crossed just a bit, not a lot

Falk wrote:(erf, damn it, my dictionary has no synonymous for a vocal-fight between two people )

Try "shouting match", I also think the term "flame war" may be appropriate in the worst cases...

Falk wrote: BY DEFAULT, maybe that sentence that seems harsh was not what the other meant to say, maybe he said it the wrong way, maybe I understood wrong, but who knows and who's gonna take the blame ? So each takes 50% and settles things down.

This is my personal philosphy of BBBS surfing...however, replace the verb "to say" with the verb "to write". Writing always has a different impact than speech, especially on BBSs.

Falk wrote:The same goes about opinions, each one has his own and everybody should concede that.

I agree, and because there will always be irreconcilable differences, it is important to be respectful, and not abusive. The best managed BBSs I have ever been on allow disagreement, but not abuse. I too enjoy using the occasional obscenity in speech to make a point, but I have found it too problematic to even attempt to use them on any BBS, even in "censored" format.

Falk wrote: So maybe there should be a bigger disclaimer in each section, to give the tone of the board, a sort of Zero tolerance warning, cuz' the line will be crossed anyway, but it'll be crossed just a bit, not a lot

'Hope what I say is understandable

I find your discourse imminently reasonable. I would only add that because this is both a public BBS, and one that invites fans of all ages, that you may want to implement this sooner than later.

About stupidity as you mean it Shin', yup' I agree. Moreover, there are many non-english natives here *like me *, so L33t language shouldn't be allowed.

Also something else comes to my mind, about harsh sentences.
Let's say I talk about the best metal band on earth : Strapping Young Lad (this sounds like a universal statement, but some proofs are coming, watch out their upcomming new album^^)

That's a bit stupid but that's the way it is, if someone comes and says "yes they're the best !", I'll be happy, if someone comes and says "no, they're crap, they suck", I'll feel offended. That's stupid cuz' in both cases the sentence is formulated as a universal statement rather than a personnal opinion, so neither is "right", but the positive one is ok, the negative one isn't . It's similar when you say "oooh, the wether is bad once again, while it's always sunny right there" *looking far at the skyline, no, not the car :p*, but when it's sunny for you, you rarely say "oh poor ones, it's always rainy for them"

*now if I ever say something really harsh contradicting all that I've just said I'll look pretty embarassed *

If you can't employ spelling, sentence syntax, and punctuation, you deserve to be shot on site. Better yet, an... IP BAN! *gasp!*

But really, if your post quality is lacking, it needs to shape up or ship out. I can't sit at my computer, trying to decypher some n00b's mangled english. Its actually quite sad that illegibility has followed people from paper (bad handwriting) to the computer (being a lazy... I won't go there).

So here are the recommended rules:

- Post Quality or die.
- No Spam. Spam is defined by anything off topic in a thread, or incoherent posts.
- Flame and die. I don't want there to be any yelling at fellow mecha-heads. Unless they deserve it for being a racist or something.
- Act with common sense. Don't be a complete idiot... I guess this speaks for itself.

But I think if some forms of "online stupidity" should be let go, it's probably posting a new topic thats already there.
I mean, you have to compensate sometimes. It's not rare that people gte excited about somehting,a nd both post it in the same day, or if people are not willing to search through the site to not post a new topic. It's a nuissance to anybody to search through the site for a topic to post in (being careful whether or not they're creating a new topic by accident), and then still have people flame him for reviving a dead thread.

I wouldn't worry too much about this subject. Almost everyone here is pretty darn cool and reasonable. And heck, Tachyon's pretty on top of things -- I trust he'd fully capable of handling problem people on an individual basis (if necessary).

As far as quality posts, we need to be careful how we judge. I would hate to alienate someone because they are English as a second (or third) language. For example, what if someone from Japan who was trying to improve their English came here to post? If we declare the persons posts 'not quality' because the English is poor, we might lose the chance to make a friend who could translate for us. Remember, it's not how many friends you have, it's how you use the ones you got!